[dingrn]

Great review! I had the chance to listen CK100 a couple of times. IMO, CK100 has beautiful mid and treble. Transparent and soundstage is also its strength. However, it does fall short in bass. The sound is obviously colored without neutral. CK100 is a female vocal specialist. To me, it sounds a little strange in classic, male vocals, and rock.

 

[shigzeo]

Sounds about right. It seems to find nooks and crannies in different genres which it loves and others it doesn't. Similarly, it finds the goodwill or antagonism from listeners. More than the UM3x, it is a polarising earphone.

 

[Antony6555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iponderous /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ No, I will judge the cost of these IEMs based on the price that I can purchase them locally from the authorised sellers

Why? Does the internet scare you? That just seems like a completely arbitrary distinction to make.

 

[iponderous]

It's known as a price comparison in a domestic market. The vast majority of consumers still purchase most of their goods and services locally rather than on-line, so it's a valid comparison to make.

 

[iponderous]

Not to put too fine a point on it Antony6555, I just quickly googled the CK100 and noticed that AudioCubes.com are selling them for $649.99 and YesAsia.com have them at $659.99. Japandirect.com are the cheapest at $418.86. You might have noticed that these are all international on-line sellers. I presume that these prices are in US dollars and do not include shipping. I doubt whether there would be too many westerners apart from those that visit this forum, who would be aware of the existence of Seyo-shop.com, which is probably selling the CK100 for the best price going around.

A cursory search of local on-line sellers finds the CK100 ranging from $542.39, $677 and up to a whopping $749. These are very pricey universal triple driver IEMs relative to the competition. I could pick up a pair of SE530's, TF10's and UM3X's for up to a couple of hundred dollars less locally and on-line, without having to shop around.

 

[Antony6555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iponderous /img/forum/go_quote.gif A cursory search of local on-line sellers finds the CK100 ranging from $542.39, $677 and up to a whopping $749. These are very pricey universal triple driver IEMs relative to the competition. I could pick up a pair of SE530's, TF10's and UM3X's for up to a couple of hundred dollars less locally and on-line, without having to shop around.

What's so bad about spending a few minutes shopping around for a major purchase? The fact that you were willing to do a search on the various prices just to prove a point (and in fact found two options at $400 or less) demonstrates that it is not that huge of a hassle. Is waiting a week for shipping that terrible?

Quote:

Originally Posted by iponderous /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's known as a price comparison in a domestic market. The vast majority of consumers still purchase most of their goods and services locally rather than on-line, so it's a valid comparison to make.

Price comparison may be a useful tool for economic analysis. But how is it relevant to your personal decision?

 

[Amarphael]

So are these the W5000 reincarnated in IEMs, or the closest there is at least? I'm a bit surprised no one has asked this by now, Looking at the CK100's sound sig it sure bring them to mind.

 

[iponderous]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antony6555 /img/forum/go_quote.gif What's so bad about spending a few minutes shopping around for a major purchase? The fact that you were willing to do a search on the various prices just to prove a point (and in fact found two options at $400 or less) demonstrates that it is not that huge of a hassle. Is waiting a week for shipping that terrible? Price comparison may be a useful tool for economic analysis. But how is it relevant to your personal decision?

The point that I have demonstrated, which you are either incapable of understanding or unwilling to concede (I suspect that it's very much the latter) is that the CK100 is an expensive IEM relative to its competition. And you are incorrect, as my search did not find any prices that were below $400. The lowest price that my search yielded was $418.86 USD, not including delivery. This was the only exception to the very high asking price for this phone, so be told.

You're undermining your first point by making your second one. It's very relevant, if you're shopping around. The other point worth making and this may come as a revelation to you, is that there are actually people who do not feel comfortable purchasing over the internet and from overseas based sellers with whom they are not familiar. Are you sitting down for this? There are still some people who don't have access to the internet. There are also others who have no interest in having access to it. These people simply shop for their goods and services locally, rather than shop for them on-line.

As stated in my earlier post, the majority of people still buy most of their goods and services locally. The reason why department stores, specialist retailers and shops of all types continue to exist is because people still feel compelled to walk into stores, browse, compare, examine, try-on etc., and make a purchase then and there. You may be an exception to this common practice but I doubt it, unless you are living in a remote part of the world with access to the internet. The disadvantage of this hobby, is that most people can't try before they buy, but that's a side issue to this debate.

 

[ljokerl]

Is it really necessary to continue this? Noone's going to win and I keep expecting more impressions of the IEM in new posts rather than the two of you arguing

.

 

[iponderous]

^ Antony6555 has already lost that argument but just can't bring himself/herself to concede it. I might add that I'm not the only one in this thread who has commented upon the high price point of the CK100. I suspect that Antony6555 owns the CK100 and has taken this observation as a personal slight and felt compelled to defend its honour. I notice this happens a lot around here. I find it both bemusing and tiresome. I too am most interested in reading more impressions of how this expensive universal IEM performs.

 

[kwang411]

The conclusion is that if you can find CK100 for about $400 then its great value, but if $700, then just go for customs.

 

[JxK]

shigzeo, how does the ck100 compare to your sleek custom? Since the prices are so similar, I'm wondering which is the better value.

 

[shigzeo]

That isn't an easy question to answer. Personally, customs are better, but that is because my ear canals are tiny. Most universals will after a time, cause irritation. That said, the CT6 cable is no where near as good. And, the CK100, while a bit more 'non linear', is more dynamic than the CT6. The CT6 is like a less dynamic JH13Pro.

It is a hard decision between the two. If Sleek had a better cable, I would probably side with the Sleek since its sound is completely in line with traditional earphones. But, the CK100 represents a unique value.

I know that ponderous doesn't think so, but I don't think he/she takes into account that the CK100 isn't competing with UM3x etc. on their shores. In Japan (the only country which officially sells the CK100), it sells for just over 300$. It is cheaper street than any of its competition and better made. Sound is up to you of course, but I think it is better to leave that moot for the moment.

It is unfair to say it is expensive when the only places you can grab it are importers. They set the price, not Audio Technica. Not consumers. Not the earphone. The earphone is sold on average for less than 400$. It would be just as fair to say that the UM3x which here sells for more than 500$ is not worth it because it is so expensive. In fact, it would be fair in the same way to say that all earphones should only be valued by their most expensive importer, not by the street price or the MSRP. If so, the Shure SE530 would still be 449$ or more and many places would sell other top tier universals for more than 500$. Everything would be neutralised again.

The fact is that the CK100 is only officially for sale in Japan. Exporters drive whatever price they want at their own detriment. If they sold closer to retail or street price, they would sell more and the CK100's name wouldn't be tarnished by grubby exporters.

 

[iponderous]

^ I'm not unsympathetic to your argument shigzeo, and you may regard my assessment as unfair based on your knowledge of how pricing works in your part of the world. However, the fact remains that the CK100 is an expensive universal triple driver IEM for those of us who may be interested in buying it outside of Asia, particularly when compared to the prices of other universal triple driver IEMs. I'm not critical of the phone as I haven't had an opportunity to audition it and at the prices that it's selling for, I doubt that I ever will.

 

[shigzeo]

That is fair, it is just that it should be noted by saying it is expensive, that it is expensive in YOUR part of the world. In my part, it is the AKG, Senn, Westone, UE that are expensive - very expensive. Some sell at 2x or more their MSRP. So, it is more fair to judge phones based on their street prices around the world - at their cheapest prices as they are affected by their constituent markets. Comparing them outside their markets only raises the price, drops supply and pads the pockets of cutthroat importers.

If this thread were about the UM3x, I could easily say that it isn't worth 550$ and that the fact that it sells in the USA for 370$ is not related. My FA66 external sound recorder which costs 230$ in the USA costs almost 600$ here. It just goes that way.